


Amethyst

by Clytemnestrasrevenge



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Fluff, LeoBin if you squint really hard, M/M, Magic, Mermen, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Wonshik's dog is a fish, no clue how to tag this but it's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 15:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20585150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clytemnestrasrevenge/pseuds/Clytemnestrasrevenge
Summary: “First, you harass my pet. Then, you trespass in my cave. And now, you’re stealing my rock?! Without even asking my name?!”





	Amethyst

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Smilehoyaaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smilehoyaaa/gifts).

> Based off [THIS](https://twitter.com/Smilehoyaaa/status/1064871637596717059?s=20) prompt
> 
> Don't overthink the physics, I drove myself crazy with that. It's all magic lol

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Jaehwan Finspo

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Wonshik Finspo

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

_ ‘Shh, child, you’re safe now. Everything is alright.’ _

_ Wonshik looked up at the kind mermaid before him, undiluted panic coursing through his veins. Chaos reigned; the palace had crumbled around them but Wonshik didn’t understand. He was only six years old and his mother- where was she? He had swum into the palace at her side, holding her hand the way he always did, and then everything had just exploded. _

_ ‘Mama- I can’t find my mama,’ he sobbed, pressing his back further into the wall, huddling in the corner and hugging himself as tight as he could. The mermaid reached out a hand, but he flinched. _

_ ‘Get away from him, your highness, he was with the sea witch!’ a gruff male voice shouted, trying to pull the mermaid away but she resisted. ‘He’s just a merling, look at him! He can’t be more than Jaehwan’s age, he had no part in this!’ _

_ The rubble was starting to settle, drifting down to rest on the ocean floor but Wonshik’s mother was still nowhere in sight. What was in sight, though, was the king. The giant and terrifying king his mother had always told him was the evilest of all mermen. He was holding a small merling boy with one arm, a golden triton in the other hand, with two older merling’s swimming behind him. _

_ ‘The witch has vanished without a trace,’ the king bellowed, the stone walls of the palace shaking around them with the force of his volume. Tiny teardrop pearls slid down Wonshik’s cheeks, his black tail flicking, trying to get as far away from the king as he could. He didn’t understand what witch everyone was yelling about; he just wanted his mother. _

_ ‘Your majesty, this merling accompanied the witch, she told the guards he was her son! What do we do with him?’ the first merman asked, still struggling to pull the kind mermaid away. _

_ The king turned his bright eyes on Wonshik, as grey as a thundercloud and sparking with phantom lightning. ‘Kill him.’ _

_ Wonshik choked on a sob. They were calling his mother a witch, they wanted to kill him, this couldn’t be happening to him! He squeezed his eyes shut as the kind mermaid shouted that she wouldn’t allow it. They all started arguing and everything was so loud, and Wonshik just wanted his mother to come back and save him, he barely registered a small hand tugging on his own. _

_ ‘Don’t cry, my mother will not let anything happen to you,’ a high voice whispered. Wonshik opened his eyes. It was the small merling boy the king had been holding, black hair fanned out around him glistening with strings of amethyst beads, a scaled tail of blue and purple. He was holding Wonshik’s hand tight, smiling a lopsided smile that looked wrong. How could this boy be happy when Wonshik’s world was crashing down around him?! _

_ ‘Really, don’t be sad,’ the boy continued, patting the back of Wonshik’s hand and trying to give him a hug. He couldn’t though, because one of the older merling’s had an arm around his middle and was dragging the boy away. _

_ ‘Come on, Jaehwan, it’s not safe,’ the elder said quietly, hair like quicksilver and dark eyes narrowed in Wonshik’s direction. _

_ ‘Fine, darling, he will be banished then, and I will hear not another word about it!’ the king shouted, returning his attention to Wonshik. ‘You, merling,’ he snarled, swimming so he could tower over Wonshik, the water shifting restlessly in his wake, ‘What is your name?’ _

_ ‘Won-Wonshik,’ Wonshik stuttered. _

_ ‘Hear me now, Wonshik. If I ever see you near my palace again, I will have you executed! Do you understand?’ _

_ Frantic, Wonshik nodded so hard he was surprised his head hadn’t tumbled off his shoulders. _

_ ‘Get out of my sight!’ _

_ Wonshik didn’t need to be told twice. He pushed off the wall and swam for the door as fast as his shark tail could propel him, catching one last glance of the little merling’s brown eyes before he was tearing through open water. Wonshik had to search for his mother. _

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Sixteen Years Later

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Jaehwan, the youngest prince of the Kingdom of Leviari, perused a row of jeweled combs on display. He was on a shopping trip in the village with his brothers, a welcome change from the palace where he spent most of his time. The lunar festival was rapidly approaching, and Jaehwan needed a new hair ornament to wear to the ball. He was a prince. Princes couldn’t show up looking anything less than _ dazzling. _

“Hwannie, look at this one,” his eldest brother called, waving Jaehwan to the next market stall. Jaehwan inclined his head to the elderly mermaid behind the counter and ducked away. 

“Amethyst always suits you, try this,” Taekwoon said, holding out a mother of pearl barrette studded with lustrous purple stones. He took it, brushing his black hair back with his fingers and securing the clip behind his ear. 

His middle brother was preening in front of a looking glass, admiring a string of rubies around his neck. They did look lovely with his warm skin, but Jaehwan shoved him out of the way anyway. 

“This is nice, but I was thinking of something a little more… more.”

“The word you’re looking for is _ gaudy,” _Hakyeon replied, shoving him away from the glass so he could continue ogling himself. 

“You’re one to talk! At least I like pretty things, not whatever has the highest price tag!”

“I have expensive taste, whereas you, dear brother, are just tacky.”

“Grow up, both of you,” Taekwoon snapped, smacking the back of both princes’ heads and effectively putting an end to their juvenile bickering. 

Jaehwan swished back over to the stall and replaced the clip, his eyes scanning the rest of the ornaments. They were _ all _beautiful, just not beautiful enough for him. 

Something slid against his fin and Jaehwan glanced down, delighted to find a small mackerel swimming around him in circles. It had a little silver chain looped around its tail, marking it as a pet, although the fish’s friendliness would have been a dead giveaway even without it. 

“Hello, little friend,” he exclaimed, folding himself up so he could sit on the seafloor. The mackerel flicked its tail, letting the prince pet it’s shiny scales and nuzzling into his hand. Jaehwan heard Hakyeon mutter something that sounded like “What a baby,” under his breath, but he ignored his brother. 

“Look, Taekwoonie! I made a friend,” Jaehwan called happily, giggling as the fish bumped its nose against his cheek. “Yes, very sweet. Hakyeonie and I are going to go get lunch, meet us at the oyster stand, okay?”

“Okay,” the young prince chirped, only half paying attention. The little fish continued to play with him for a few more minutes, but it suddenly darted away. 

“Hey! Wait!” Jaehwan squeaked, flicking his tail and swimming after it. He wanted to play some more, how could his friend just leave!?

The mackerel zoomed past the row of market stalls, Jaehwan weaving around the other patrons and tossing out hasty apologies. His friend darted out into the seagrass meadow, ignoring the princes calls of “Wait!” and “Come back!”

Jaehwan chased the fish around mountains of coral and through patches of kelp, drifting to a halt when it swam inside an unfamiliar cave. This was a part of the kingdom the prince was unfamiliar with, he realized belatedly. He was lost. 

“Hello?” Jaehwan called, hesitantly approaching the mouth of the cave. His friend had a collar, so maybe its owner lived here and could give him directions. 

There was no answer but Jaehwan swam on anyway. The cave was darker and narrower than it appeared from the outside, sharp rocks jutting up from the ocean floor and purple urchins everywhere. But he could see a glimmer of light at the end, so he kept going. Hopefully his friend’s owner was kind. 

“Hello? Owner of the nice mackerel?” Jaehwan called again, not wanting to startle anyone who might be inside. He heard a clanging noise and stuck his head around the wall of rock, eyes going wide. 

There was a merman staring back at him that Jaehwan had never seen before. His hair was a lovely storm grey, deep brown eyes, and his tail... his tail was long and sharp looking. Not scaled like a normal merman, slick and black with pointed fins instead of round ones. It looked like a shark’s tail, and Jaehwan was instantly mesmerized. He’d never seen the like before.

“Who are you and why are you trespassing in my house?” the merman asked in a sonorous baritone. He crossed his very well-defined arms, looking at the prince with undisguised suspicion. 

“I’m- my name is Jaehwan?”

“You don’t sound very sure about that.”

“My name _ is _Jaehwan,” Jaehwan repeated, making his voice firm. “And I followed the cute mackerel here. He was playing with me in the village and just swam off.”

Jaehwan was still being glared at, his own tail flicking nervously where he floated by the entrance. His friend had settled down in a little bed of seaweed near another tunnel, the adorable sight making him smile despite its owners’ obvious distrust. 

“You were playing with Ongdongie?”

“Yes, but what’s wrong with your tail?” Jaehwan asked, assuming that was the little fish’s name but extremely distracted. There were silver hoops on the edge of the merman’s fin, and Jaehwan had never seen _ those _either. Unfortunately, his question seemed to have touched a nerve. 

“Nothing. Just because I don’t look like a Carp the way you do, doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong,” the stranger replied sharply, his marvelous tail swishing back and forth in quick little motions. Jaehwan’s mouth dropped open, affronted. “I do _ not _ look like _ a Carp! _I’ll have you know that I’ve been likened to a Betta,” he exclaimed, twirling in a circle and rolling his body a bit to show off how prettily his indented tailfins fluttered. 

The other snorted, clearly unimpressed. “Why, because you’re so shrimpy?”

“Don’t be rude!”

“You were rude first. And you came into my house without being invited.”

Jaehwan huffed, little bubbles escaping from between his lips. This merman may be handsome, but he was _ so _mean! “What’s through there?” he asked, nodding to the other passage.

“It leads up to this great place called none of your business.”

The prince squinted, mouth forming his signature pout, and he darted around the stranger to zoom through the opposite tunnel. “Hey! Will you get out of here?!” the other shouted, swimming after Jaehwan with a speed that was downright remarkable. 

“No! I want to see what’s so great about none-of-your-business land!” 

Jaehwan reached the end and his head broke the surface of a little cove, the same dark rocks jutting out of the water in a semicircle with a flat piece in the middle. “Oh!” he breathed, swimming over to the flat rock and hoisting himself up onto it. 

“Get down.”

“No way! This is the most _ picturesque _spot! It’s beautiful!” the prince replied, rummaging around the little bag tied at his waist and pulling out his favorite amethyst comb. He ran it through his wet hair, admiring how the water droplets glistened on his scales. Hopefully some humans would come by and tell him how lovely he looked. That would be nice. 

“First, you harass my pet. Then, you trespass in my cave. And now, you’re stealing my rock?! Without even asking my name?!” the stranger grumbled, treading water so his shoulders were visible.

Jaehwan’s eyes widened in surprise, how could he have been so inconsiderate?! Not the trespassing nonsense, but he hadn’t been properly introduced to this handsome merman! “Come, sit with me and tell me your name!” he exclaimed, smiling down at the stranger and patting the spot beside him. 

“My name is Wonshik,” the other replied, lifting himself up onto the rock with a distinctly petulant air. 

“That’s a cute name! Wonshik… Wonshikie…” Jaehwan murmured, reaching out so he could comb the other’s hair. His hand was slapped away almost immediately. 

“Don’t do that.”

“Why? Friends comb each other’s hair!”

“We aren’t friends.”

Jaehwan pouted, shifting closer so he had better access to Wonshik’s shiny grey locks. They were so smooth, seawater dripping down to roll across his broad back. “Yes, we are, we’re friends now. So let me comb your hair please.”

Wonshik squinted at him but didn’t try to push the prince away a second time.

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

“Wonshikie, I got my scales done! Don’t they look pretty?” 

Wonshik glanced up from the shell he was polishing, eyeing the cute merman’s tail. A new line of pearls swirled down from the royal-blue scales at his hip, forming a squiggle around to the midnight purple part where his tail met his fins. It did look pretty, Wonshik thought, it put him in mind of seafoam on wet sand. Wonshik didn’t say that, of course, he just made a sort of noncommittal grunt and returned his attention to his work.

“Your tail is quite beautiful though,” Jaehwan continued, apparently not caring about the lack of a reply from the younger. He swished down to probe at Wonshik’s black fins, squeaking when the younger flicked them at his face. 

“Watch out! Those rings could put my eye out! Then I’d be blind forever! Do you _ want _me to go blind?!” the elder asked, swimming back to poke the small silver hoops lining the edge of Wonshik’s left fin with stubborn determination. It tickled.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Why?” Jaehwan asked, meeting Wonshik’s glare with a pout and hugging onto the youngers tail the way merling’s do with their parents. He swished again, successfully dislodging the clingy merman on his third attempt.

“Because you’re annoying.”

Jaehwan lifted a slender hand to his heart, the picture of wounded. Wonshik tried his best not to smile. 

“Ongdongie doesn’t think I’m annoying, he loves me,” the elder replied, scooping the mackerel out of his seaweed bed and clutching the poor thing to his chest. 

“If you strangle my fish, I’m going to tie you to our rock and let the sun bake you to death,” Wonshik muttered. Other people were always suitably threatened by him, but Jaehwan just brushed his words off like they were nothing. He was either unbelievably brave or catastrophically stupid.

The little mackerel manage to escape Jaehwan’s octopus-like grip, swimming in hasty circles around Wonshik’s head before darting down the tunnel to the cave’s entrance. Wonshik watched him go with a fond smile, but found Jaehwan gaping at him when he glanced over his shoulder.

“You look like a grouper, close your mouth,” he chided, feeling a bit flustered as an enormous grin bloomed on Jaehwan’s face. “What? What happened?”

“Wonshikie!” the elder squeaked, his high-pitched voice nearly deafening Wonshik on the spot. 

“What?!”

“You called it _ our _rock!”

The younger shut his eyes, anticipating the hug before Jaehwan even flicked his tail. Those skinny arms wrapped around Wonshik’s neck like a vice, colliding with him so hard that Wonshik was knocked out of his desk chair.

“I misspoke, it’s very much _ my _rock, get off,” he grumbled, swishing his tail a little to stop them spinning in the water and trying to push Jaehwan away. Unsurprisingly, his friend wasn’t going to let a slipup like that go so easily. 

“Our rock! Our rock! Our rock!” 

“No! Mine!”

Jaehwan’s ring-covered fingers curled in Wonshik’s hair, making it more impossible to shove him off. 

“You’re so annoying,” Wonshik muttered, but the elder clearly could hear over his laughter.

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

A week later, the two mermen were lounging on their rock, watching sun crawl inexorably closer to the horizon. Wonshik looked out at the ocean, thinking about how pretty it was on these clear and cloudless days, how the fading light painted the water peach and periwinkle. Jaehwan was babbling about nothing of consequence, running his comb through Wonshik’s hair the way he insisted on doing every day. 

It wasn’t horrible, Wonshik mused, having someone there to fill the silence. But he still couldn’t figure out why Jaehwan liked him so much. Nobody _ liked _Wonshik. He was an outcast, an outsider. He was an exile, treated like a leper by everyone in the kingdom after what his mother had done. The senseless violence. And his abnormal tail only served to put others more on edge. 

But Jaehwan liked his tail. And liked his hair. And apparently liked his company. Wonshik had realized after the third visit that his friend didn’t know who he was, and Wonshik wasn’t going to spoil this by divulging information that would make Jaehwan be frightened of him. If he did that, who would bring him sweets from the village? Or talk his ear off?

“Your turn!” Jaehwan chirped, dropping the comb on Wonshik’s lap.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

Wonshik sighed, scooting around so Jaehwan’s back was to him. He picked up the comb and slowly began to brush it through his friend’s black hair, noticing vaguely that the sun made Jaehwan’s hair glisten like ebony floss. His friend really was pretty. 

It took the younger a full minute to register the sound of Jaehwan’s voice, singing a wordless melody that dipped and swelled like gentle waves breaking on the seashore. It was such a beautiful song that Wonshik felt a bit dazed, but he snapped out of his fog with a conscious effort.

“Knock it off, every human for miles around is going to hear you!” he exclaimed, poking the side of Jaehwan’s neck before resuming his combing. His friend huffed, crossing his arms like a stubborn merling. “Exactly! Then they can come and tell me how lovely I am! That’s the whole point.”

Wonshik squinted at the back of his friend’s head. “I don’t want humans around here, they’re such pests. And why do you need _ them _to tell you things like that? Don’t your friends compliment you?”

“Yes, but they’re so cute when they see us Wonshikie. They turn all red and they jump around on their funny legs,” Jaehwan replied, giggling a little and dropping his head back so he was smiling at the younger upside down. His eyes were glittery too. Wonshik squinted harder. 

“I don’t care, they haven’t found this cove yet and I don’t want them to,” the younger said, nudging Jaehwan upright again

There was a moment of unusual silence and then, “Wonshikie?”

“Yes?”

“Are you going to the ball? You know, for the lunar festival?”

Wonshik actually laughed at the question. “No, why would I?”

He could literally _ hear _how hard his friend was thinking, and it was almost painful. “Everyone goes. You should come with me.”

“Yeah, everyone goes but me. Go with your friends.”

More silence. Wonshik was starting to worry that Jaehwan was going to give himself a headache if he kept thinking this much. “But… I want you to come.”

Without meaning to, the younger let a bit of his magic out. A gift from his mother, it was forever tainted with the memory of her and her stupid mistakes. Wonshik didn’t have much magic in him, nothing like she had, but a little of it rippled out from the tips of his fingers where they rested against his friend’s hair. In its wake was a fine silver chain, seed pearls hanging off every other link with a larger piece of opal anchoring it at the back of Jaehwan’s head. It formed a very dainty circlet, and despite the fact he had made it on accident, Wonshik thought it looked very nice. It left him feeling a bit tired, like using magic normally did, but the younger didn’t mind.

“What… what?” Jaehwan squeaked, lifting a hand to his own hair and prodding Wonshik's creation. “Where did this come from?”

“I had it in my satchel and thought it would look nice on you,” the younger lied, unconsciously grinning a little as his friend turned and beamed up at him. This was what Wonshik did with his magic. He only used it to make beautiful things, not like his mother. She used it to ruin, and the young merman would _ never _follow in her footsteps. “You can wear it to the ball if you want.”

“Thank you! Now you have to come so you can see me in it!” Jaehwan exclaimed, throwing himself on Wonshik so enthusiastically that they both tumbled off the rock and back into the water. 

“Jaehwan, I can’t.”

“I know you don’t like people, but you don’t even have to go into the palace! We can stay in the garden! Not many others around and it’s always lit up so beautifully, it will be fun! Please?”

“No, I really can’t,” Wonshik replied, leaving out the fact that if he was caught on the palace grounds he’d be put to death. Jaehwan didn’t need to know that. 

His friend blinked up at him, big brown eyes ridiculously wide and bottom lip pushed out way too far to be natural. “Please? Just for a few minutes? I’ll meet you in the garden, you won’t have to talk to anyone else!”

Wonshik chuckled a little before he could stop himself. 

“You’re so annoying.”

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Wonshik was seated at his work desk the next day, fiddling with a deep green shell he had found on his swim that morning. Fiddling, meaning he wasn’t actually doing anything with it, wasn’t making it into a pendant like he’d originally planned. He hadn’t even cleaned it.

Jaehwan was late. 

It’s not like he and his friend had planned anything, but Jaehwan always turned up around noon and left right before sunset. The sun was still high in the sky, Jaehwan could just be late. Maybe he found another cute fish to harass and got distracted. Or maybe he was with his real friends or the brothers he talked of so often. Or maybe he was still eating lunch.

Any of those things could be true, but Wonshik… Wonshik had a _ feeling. _Something was off, it felt wrong, and he had learned a long time ago to trust his instincts where this sort of thing was concerned. 

Wonshik swam away from his desk, leaving the shell where it was and securing his satchel around his waist. He propelled himself toward the entrance of his cave but stopped abruptly. Despite how much the small merman talked, Jaehwan had never told Wonshik where he lived. 

It was somewhere near the village, surely, because that’s where his friend had first found Ongdongie and Wonshik had to give him directions on how to get back. He’d go that way, although hopefully he’d find Jaehwan before he reached it. Wonshik did _ not _ want to see any of the other merfolk if he didn’t have too. He _ really _didn’t. 

Wonshik made his way through the kelp forest and swam over the stretch of enormous brain coral, scanning the sea floor for Jaehwan. He couldn’t make out anyone, no black hair catching the sunlight or flicker of purple and blue fins. It’s not that Wonshik actually _ missed _ Jaehwan. Jaehwan, who never shut up and insisted on brushing his hair every day and tried to hug him constantly. But- but it didn’t matter right then because Wonshik could feel it now. Danger.

He swam faster, chills running down his spine. The feeling was getting stronger and Wonshik could smell it. The acrid tang of fear mixed with Jaehwan’s scent cutting through the water. He followed it, swishing his tail even harder until he came upon a sunken ship that he was positive hadn’t been there last week. 

A school of tiger sharks was swimming around it, circling the way they did when they were hunting. The hull of the ship was cracked, several portholes smashed, and the mast was broken in half. And just visible through one of the windows, shards of glass still floating down to the sea floor, was Jaehwan.

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

This was it. Jaehwan was going to die. Eaten by sharks inside a sunken ship and nobody would know. Because Jaehwan, stupidly, had never told anyone where he was going! He always said he was going to the village or the market or somewhere that _ wasn’t _visiting his friend who acted more like a hermit crab than a merman. 

And he’d never told anyone because Jaehwan had figured out early on that Wonshik didn’t know he was a prince. Jaehwan liked being treated like a normal person, he really did, and showing up with a guard or two would probably spoil the illusion. So Jaehwan kept his mouth shut, gave his brothers the slip as usual, and now he was going to be eaten by sharks. 

Wonshik wouldn’t know either, because Wonshik didn’t _ actually _like him. Wonshik didn’t care that Jaehwan came to see him every day, he just tolerated the prince. He didn’t like Jaehwan as much as Jaehwan liked him and why would he? Why would he like a person who was essentially shark food?! Why would he-

“Help!” Jaehwan screamed, backing up against the inside of the ship’s hull as one of the giant creatures banged its fin against the porthole. This was it; this was the end of Prince Jaehwan. He squeezed his eyes shut, cowering the corner-

“Leave him alone!”

“Wonshik?!” 

Jaehwan eyes flew open, his friends back visible through the porthole, obscuring the sharks from view. But Wonshik wouldn’t have anyone with him! One merman couldn’t scare away seven fully grown sharks! They would just eat him as an appetizer!

“Wonshik, swim away! Don’t let them get you too!” he shouted, but his friend wasn’t leaving! 

There was something strange in the water, not blood, so Wonshik hadn’t been bitten, but something almost as metallic. Jaehwan had never smelled anything like it. Or... no, he _had_ smelled it before. Once. When he was very young and evil sea witch had attacked his father’s palace. This was all too strange and terrifying for the prince to pause and follow that thought to completion. 

“Move along, go! You will _ not _eat him,” Wonshik was saying, his deep voice pricking at something in Jaehwan's overwhelmed mind. It almost echoed. 

The prince heard swishing, the noise getting quieter and quieter until he could no longer make it out. “Jaehwan?! Jaehwan, are you alright?”

Wonshik’s face appeared in the porthole, eyelids drooping, and mouth set in a hard line. His breath was heavy as well, like he had just swum a marathon. It took the prince a few seconds to snap out of his terror induced frozen state, darting to the other side of the hull and squeezing out one of the larger windows. He raced back over to where his friend was waiting, heart pounding. 

Wonshik didn’t like him, thought he was annoying, and didn’t enjoy being hugged, but Jaehwan couldn’t help himself. He hurtled at his friend, throwing his arms around Wonshik’s neck and bursting into tears. 

“I was so- so scared,” he sobbed, hiding his face against his friends’ neck. He felt Wonshik’s arms circle him, hesitantly hugging him back. “I th-thought I was going to d-die!”

The larger mermaids’ arms tightened protectively, his cheek resting on top of Jaehwan’s head. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” he breathed, so softly that Jaehwan probably wasn’t supposed to have heard. 

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

It was the night of the lunar festival but Jaehwan _ wasn’t _enjoying himself. 

Normally, the young prince adored parties. An excuse to socialize and show off his new jewelry and eat delicious food? That was Jaehwan’s ideal evening. But not tonight. 

Jaehwan had met the delegation from the neighboring kingdom earlier, along with his father and brothers, visiting for the ball. He had been entirely shocked to find that they had sleek and shark-like tails similar to Wonshik, but that just made him miss his friend more. The elder brothers had immediately monopolized the foreign princes, a stunning merman with oddly sharp teeth and an absolutely giant merman with shiny blonde hair. Normally, Jaehwan would have been jealous that he wasn’t the one getting attention, but again, not tonight. 

The ball was in full swing, tinkling laughter and beautiful music spilling from the palace and into the garden where Jaehwan was sitting. His tail was encrusted with jewels, a belt of spirula shells around his waist. A small purple starfish was stuck to his hip bone, pearls adhered to his collarbones, and Wonshik’s circlet atop his head. He was sipping a fizzy drink through a reed, he looked great, it was the waves damned lunar festival, but Jaehwan still wasn’t having fun. 

Maybe he was sick, that would explain it. He looked down at his tail to check for scale rot but, of course, there wasn’t any. His scale technician would have told him if there was anything wrong. Jaehwan knew what the real problem was. His heart was sick. He hadn’t seen his friend at all that day, and it was the first time in a month that he had been without that handsome, grumpy face. 

Jaehwan left his bench and drink behind, swimming slowly through the garden and into the kelp maze. He always loved this part of the grounds, loved watching the long green ribbons dance slowly in time to the waves above. The music was quieter in here but Jaehwan didn’t mind. He glided smoothly around the twists and turns, closing his eyes for a moment and letting the current carry him along the-

“Jaehwan?”

The young prince turned around so fast that he accidentally tangled himself in the kelp, jaw going slack. Wonshik was there, floating just a few feet away. 

He didn’t look like his usual self though, and it through Jaehwan’s sick heart into a tailspin. His friend’s hair was shinier than normal, lines of black ink sponged delicately down from the sides of his neck, along his shoulders, stopping midway over his bicep. Silver chains of varying lengths hung around his waist, matching the cuffs on his wrists and band around his neck. There was even a bit of ink around his beautiful eyes, Jaehwan noticed, before his gaze was drawn to the silver hoops around the shell of his left ear, just like the ones on his fin. 

“Wonshikie?” Jaehwan asked, looking from his friends’ eyes to the emerald stone in the center of his forehead and back again. This must be a mirage, Wonshik never wore _ any _sort of jewelry. Ever. “You- you said you wouldn’t come...”

His friend smiled a little and- and oh, it was almost shy? 

“You left your comb on our rock. I was just returning it since I know it’s your favorite,” Wonshik replied, holding out what was very obviously Jaehwan’s amethyst encrusted comb. The prince stared at it, uncomprehending, for a full five seconds before shaking himself and swimming a bit closer. 

“Thank you, but- but you're all prettified? Are you staying?”

Jaehwan took the comb and wove it through his belt so he wouldn’t lose it, staring up at his friends’ handsome face. He was gorgeous on a normal day, but the ornamentation certainly didn’t hurt.

“I’m blending in, I couldn’t just show up without anything. It would draw too much attention.”

The prince arched a brow, glancing down Wonshik’s body and then up. “And you think _this_ won’t turn heads?” Wonshik would have turned heads anyway, what with his remarkable tail, but- “Oh! Speaking of which, are you from the neighboring kingdom originally?”

His friend stared blankly, his pretty eyes drifting around Jaehwan’s face. “I only ask because the princes from there are visiting and they all have tails like you,” he added, because it seemed like clarification was necessary. 

“Oh, uh… no? I don’t think so? I grew up here, but my mom would have been the one to ask.”

Jaehwan knew about Wonshik’s mother, sort of. All he managed to glean from the one time his friend mentioned her was that she had run off and abandoned him when he was six. Hearing that had hurt Jaehwan, made him hurt for Wonshik’s loss. His own mother had passed away several years ago, but she hadn’t _ chosen _to leave.

“Oh, well. Well, since you’re here, do you want a drink?”

The prince guessed his friend probably wouldn’t stay, but he was trying to come up with any way to get him to wait a bit longer. He needed an excuse to stare at Wonshik some more. 

“I shouldn’t, I really have to get back home. But…”

“But?”

“But I brought you something else,” Wonshik said, his eyes flicking up to the circlet on Jaehwan’s head, tail stirring the water beneath them. He raised one hand, gently poking the starfish on the prince’s hip. Jaehwan felt it wiggle a little. “Brought me something?”

“Yes.”

When Wonshik didn’t elaborate further, Jaehwan inched closer, taking his friend's hand and lacing their fingers together. He could still hear the music wafting out from inside the palace, his head pleasantly light from the single fizzy drink he’d been sipping

“You almost becoming lunch for a school of sharks the other day got me thinking.”

“Thanks again for that, by the way, but thinking about what?”

Wonshik hesitated, very pointedly not meeting Jaehwan’s eyes. “Thinking about how you’re not annoying. Well you are, but in a good way.”

Jaehwan beamed up at his friend, hearing that Wonshik liked him, even a little bit, made the young princes heart sing. “Thank you Wonshikie! I don’t find you annoying in either a good or a bad way, you’re my favorite friend!” he replied, happily swishing his tail and accidentally propelling them a few feet towards the exit of the maze. 

Wonshik cleared his throat as he tugged them to a stop. “Thank you for giving me a compliment, it was sweet of you to bring it all this way.”

“That’s not what I brought you.”

“Oh?” Jaehwan asked, looking his friend up and down a second time, but now searching for somewhere Wonshik could have concealed a present. There weren’t any obvious spots, he didn’t have his satchel and there wasn’t a pouch around his waist, maybe-

Wonshik shifted, moving into Jaehwan’s personal space. For a second, the prince thought his friend was going to hug him. But then the hand Jaehwan wasn’t holding was on the nape of his neck and his pretty lips were pressed to Jaehwan’s cheek and the young prince _ damn _near whimpered out loud.

“Oh,” Jaehwan repeated, but it was a soft sound. Barely audible, even though the music playing in the distance was quiet. Wonshik’s fin nudged his own, a playful little gesture as he pulled back. “You’re not annoying. And I like it when you visit me and comb my hair and you look very lovely tonight, all the time, actually.”

Wonshik snapped his mouth shut, glancing around like he hadn’t meant to say those things aloud but Jaehwan didn’t care. He let out a peel of giddy laughter and threw himself forward, crashing into his friend’s chest and accidentally sending them both drifting into the kelp. Jaehwan didn’t care about that either. 

It almost felt as though he was in a dream, Wonshik’s strong arms enveloping him. Like the spell cast by the lunar eclipse high above had gifted them this moment together. Jaehwan could feel his friend’s chest rise and fall, see the emerald and gold flecks ringing his friends’ pupils within the dark brown and he wanted Wonshik closer. As close as physically possible. 

He tilted his face up, tail wrapping tightly around his friends own as he cupped Wonshik’s cheeks in his ring-covered hands. Wonshik was smiling, smiling wider than Jaehwan had ever seen him smile and the prince’s heart began doing backflips inside his ribcage. To his surprise, Wonshik was the one to kiss him first. Jaehwan had been about to do it, pull his friend down so they were at a level height, but he never got the chance. Wonshik’s hands settled on the prince’s waist, lifting him up the few inches necessary so he could capture Jaehwan’s lips and it was _ bliss. _

Jaehwan’s whole body relaxed, settling further and further into the embrace. He felt punch drunk, knotting his fingers in his friend’s hair, delighting in the sensation of his friend’s mouth moving easily against his own. This wasn’t the young prince’s first kiss, but it _was_ the best. Absolutely, emphatically, unequivocally, the most _ wonderful _kiss Jaehwan had ever been given. 

“Now you really can’t leave,” Jaehwan breathed when they finally broke apart, resting his forehead against his friends. Wonshik sighed, his eyelids fluttering closed and nudging Jaehwan’s nose with his own. “I have to. You can come visit me again tomorrow if you’d like, though.”

The young prince had assumed as much, he just hoped that now Wonshik would want to stay with him all the more. “At least let me accompany you home so I know you made it, the open water out there isn’t safe in the dark,” he replied softly, brushing Wonshik’s cheekbone with his thumb. 

Wonshik chuckled, that deep and rumbling laugh Jaehwan got to hear so rarely. That laugh that filled his stomach with eels and his heart with joy. “And then just, what? Let you swim back here all by yourself?”

“I could always stay…”

“No,” Wonshik said, several charged seconds later, sounding like he genuinely regretted turning the prince’s offer down. “No, you stay here and enjoy the party. We can talk about this tomorrow.”

“Can I come with you to the gate at least?”

“If you wish.”

Jaehwan grinned, stealing a final, fervent kiss before letting Wonshik pull him out from the kelp grove they had gotten tangled up in. Wonshik’s hands felt so large in his own, his chest so broad, Jaehwan tucking himself against it as they swam slowly towards the entrance of the maze. He’d be perfectly happy to stay like this forever, just stay-

“Jaehwan?”

The young prince looked around, searching for the source of the voice until his eyes found his eldest brother. Taekwoon was almost entirely obscured from view by the ribbons of kelp, in a similarly compromising position to the one Jaehwan had been in moments ago, the extremely handsome foreign prince at his side. 

“Enjoying yourself, dear brother?” the younger asked, gracing Taekwoon with a very cheeky wink. But Taekwoon wasn’t looking at him. “Jaehwan, who is that?”

Wonshik had gone entirely still but Jaehwan didn’t understand why. “He’s my friend, his name is Wonshik and he owns the cute mackerel I befriended in town last month. Do you remember?”

“Yes, of course, it’s hard to forget spending three hours searching for you when you didn’t meet us for lunch. But- Jaehwan I need you to move away from this merman very slowly, do you understand?” Taekwoon said, swimming out of the kelp, stopping a few feet from them. 

Jaehwan blinked several times, entirely confused. “What? Why?” he asked, unconsciously floating back a bit so he could feel his friend behind him, trying not to be _ so _ aware of Wonshik’s hand pressing against his hip. “Jaehwan, do as I say! Get away from him!”

Taekwoon’s midnight eyes were fixed on Wonshik, his jade green tail flicking in agitation as his companion swam to his side again. “Why?! Why can you and Yeon both have friends, but I can’t? It’s not fair!” Jaehwan whined, knowing just how petulant he sounded but not caring at all. They were such hypocrites, Hakyeon and Taekwoon both. 

“You’re a prince,” Wonshik murmured, the declaration entirely emotionless. Now Jaehwan understood why his friend was so tense. He spun around; palms flat against Wonshik’s chest. “Don’t be angry! I was going to tell you, it was just never the right time and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” Jaehwan pleaded, looking imploringly up at his friend, but Wonshik was staring right over his head. 

“Jaehwan, get _away_ from him!”

The younger rounded on his brother, frustration bubbling up from nowhere and smothering his happiness from moments ago. “No! You don’t even know him! How can you behave so-“

“He’s the sea witch’s son, Jaehwan, I remember him, he’s not safe!” Taekwoon snapped, shooting the younger an impatient glare and holding out a hand. 

The memory hit Jaehwan with the force of a tidal wave. His father’s palace falling apart, the beautiful mermaid with glittering grey hair laughing in the king’s face before vanishing inside a vortex. And the merling, crying in a corner as his mother and father fought. Jaehwan had wanted to make the boy happy, reassure him that he would be okay, but Taekwoon had dragged him away before he could. Just like he was trying to do now. 

“So what?!” 

The words had left Jaehwan’s mouth, he had shouted them before he could fully process the implications of Wonshik being the sea witch’s son. Never went into the village, lived on the outskirts of the kingdom, turned down Jaehwan's offer to come to the ball…

“My sons? Are those your voices I hear, bickering even on this joyous day?”

Jaehwan’s body turned glacial, eyes widening in panic. “No,” Wonshik breathed, and he could feel his friend backing away. Slowly. So slowly.

"How many times have I told you two to leave off with this childish fighting and,” the king said, rounding the corner of the maze with a wide smile on his face. The smile stayed, at first, until his storm cloud eyes fixed on Wonshik. 

"You… the spawn of that hateful witch! What are you doing here, you are banned from this place," his father asked, voice suddenly turning cold.

Jaehwan could sense the storm starting to grow, feel it in the restless way the water shifted, see it in the light sparking in his father’s eyes. “Father, I tried to tell him,” Taekwoon began, sounding about as frantic as Jaehwan felt, but the king held up a hand for silence. 

He lifted his triton, pointing it straight at Wonshik. “You, you _ dare _ enter my palace, lure my youngest son from safety?! You _ dare _ to try and use him to get your revenge? To finish the evil work your mother never completed?!” he growled, the water around them turning downright turbulent and swishing them all back and forth. 

There was no fear in his father’s eyes, only rage. The unforgiving rage of a storm at sea. Jaehwan moved without thinking, not caring about the consequences. He swam in front of his friend, grabbing Wonshik’s wrist and shielding the witch’s son with his own body. He back to Wonshik’s chest. 

“Move, Jaehwan!”

“No.”

“Now!” his father bellowed, tiny bubbles swirling up around him as he glared at the young prince. But he lowered the triton, just the smallest bit. 

“No, father! Wonshik-“

“Jaehwan, please, come here,” Taekwoon called, not daring to move any closer but both hands now extended. Like he was waiting for Jaehwan to swim to him like a frightened merling. 

“I do not care, Jaehwan! Move away from him this instant!” his father shouted, the sound of waves crashing on the surface reaching them all the way on the seafloor. “Your majesty, I am not trying to hurt the prince, I was simply returning his,” Wonshik started, voice remarkably steady.

“Silence! Your kind spew nothing but venom and lies! Unhand my son!”

“Father, he’s my friend! My _ favorite _ friend, you can’t-“ Jaehwan pleaded, desperate, but he too was interrupted. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare act like you can tell me what to do when you’re so clearly under this monster’s spell! You will be confined to your room until I can think of a suitable punishment for fraternizing with this enemy, now get out of my way!”

“He saved my life!”

“He is a _threat_ to your life, idiotic child! Move before I make you move, my final warning!”

“Jaehwan,” Wonshik whispered, speaking directly directly into the princes ear. Jaehwan could feel the sea around him begin to tug, trying to drag him away from his friend by force. “Jaehwan, on the count of three, go to your brother.”

“No!” the young prince exclaimed, tightening his grip on Wonshik's wrist so the current was unable to break them apart. If Jaehwan let go, Wonshik would die! He wouldn’t allow that, couldn’t bare the thought of-

“Jaehwan, trust me. Just like with the sharks, okay? I’ll be safe and I’ll find a way to talk to you.”

“Wonshik, please! Don’t do this!” he replied, voice cracking. He could feel the tears building, the first tiny pearl already rolling down his cheek. “Trust me.”

Jaehwan wanted to, wanted to believe that his friends shark related miracle would work a second time, that his father would turn and run the way the sharks had. He knew it would never really happen, his friend was deluding himself if he thought he could stand up to the king. But a new current was stirring the water around them now, growing faster and faster as it warred with the other. And that metallic smell was back.

“One.”

“Enough of this nonsense!” the king bellowed, the sound of his anger reverberating inside the young prince’s skull. 

“Two.” 

The currents were trying to pull Jaehwan two ways at once. Any stronger and they would tear the young prince in half, he was sure of it. 

Wonshik’s fin bumped his own, dropping a quick kiss on the spot just behind Jaehwans ear. 

“Three.”

Jaehwan released his friends wrist with a sob, current sending him careening into Taekwoon. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the king aim a rod of silvery blue electricity at his friend. Somehow, he missed. Wonshik had been swallowed up by a vortex, and he did not reappear once the water calmed. He had simply vanished. 

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Jaehwan was a prince. Not only was Jaehwan a prince but he was _ that _prince. 

Wonshik had recognized the elder brother as soon as he and his friend stumbled upon him. The quicksilver hair a shade lighter than Wonshik’s own, sharp black eyes. And the prince had recognized him as well. Obviously. 

But how could he not have recognized Jaehwan?! His friend was still small, his dark hair the same, beautiful tail the same, big brown eyes the same. Maybe he didn’t recognize Jaehwan because... well who in their right mind would expect a prince to break into their home and try to cuddle with their pet?! Nobody, that’s who. Seeing him in a palace setting made so much more sense. 

Wonshik had been in bed for the past three days, halfway between sleeping and waking. His use of so much magic to escape from the king had nearly depleted him. It left his body weak and shaky, the after effects only now starting to wear off. 

Jaehwan hadn’t come to visit him. Wonshik guessed that the king had made good on the threat to lock the young prince in his room. How could they think Wonshik put a spell on him?! He never hurt anyone, only an innocent bystander during his mother’s attack, and a merling no less! But Wonshik was guilty by association. 

Some part of his brain, the weaker part, was telling him to be angry with Jaehwan for keeping his identity a secret. Jaehwan hadn’t even explained after that earth-shattering kiss. But the stronger part of his brain was reminding Wonshik that he hadn’t exactly been all that forthcoming either. Jaehwan hadn’t meant anything malicious, quite the opposite. And that side was winning. 

The kiss. Wonshik shouldn’t have gone to the palace in the first place. It had been a stupid thing to do, acting on a whim. He could have waited, _ should _have waited until Jaehwan came here to tell his friend how he felt. It would have made so much more sense. But Wonshik had wanted to surprise Jaehwan. Wanted to make him smile the way he always made Wonshik smile. And when he had kissed Jaehwan and Jaehwan had laughed and kissed him back, Wonshik had felt like the happiest merman in the entire ocean. 

And now, thanks to his impulsivity, Jaehwan was locked in a tower somewhere and Wonshik himself felt half dead. 

“Ongdongie,” he called, managing to sit up. His sweet mackerel came hurtling out of the tunnel, swimming circles around Wonshiks head as the young merman swam slowly to his work desk. Wonshik had an idea. 

He shuffled things around until he found a small wax tablet, using a lionfish spine to carve words into the surface. When he was finished, Wonshik secured the tablet to his pets tail with a ribbon of seaweed and looked him in the eye. “Ongdongie, I need you to find Jaehwan and bring this to him, can you do that?”

The mackerel swished his tail, seemingly in confirmation. “Wait until he writes me something and then bring it back here, go as fast as you can.” Without a moment's hesitation, his pet swam down to the caves entrance and vanished from view. Wonshik had always had a knack for communicating with sea creatures, and he settled back in his bed, hoping that his talent wouldn’t let him down. 

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

Jaehwan was miserable. 

He was in such depths of despair that he simply floated around his bedroom ceiling. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even bring himself to comb his hair. He just floated. Alone. 

Nobody was allowed to see him or speak to him, so convinced was his father that Jaehwan was under a spell. The king didn’t want its effects to spread and contaminate anyone else. But Jaehwan didn’t think he was under a spell. Why would Wonshik put a spell on him? Up until the night of the festival, he’d acted like he wanted Jaehwan to leave him alone! Snaring Jaehwan with magic would be counterproductive for him. It was nonsense. But Jaehwan was a social creature and being alone like this was the worst punishment he could imagine. Left by himself, no friends or fish to keep him company, only the memory of Wonshiks promise to give him some hope. 

Jaehwan longed for Wonshik. He wanted to see his friends handsome face, look into those pretty eyes, kiss those soft lips again because the first time had been _ much _ too short. The young prince wasn’t even angry! If he was a sea witch’s son he probably wouldn’t tell anyone about it either! Jaehwan didn’t care about Wonshiks lineage, all he wanted to do was wrap himself around his friend like an eel and-

A blur of silver streaked through the prince's open window, startling him so thoroughly that Jaehwan smacked his head on the ceiling. On closer inspection, he saw that it was...

“Ongdongie!” he squeaked with delight, hugging the little mackerel against his chest. Something poked at his arm and he looked down to find a small tablet. His heart leapt. “Oh! Good boy! You’re such a good messenger!” he exclaimed, untying the wooden rectangle from the fish's tail and reading the words etched into the wax. 

_ ‘Jaehwan, I miss you terribly, and if you are in fact confined to your room, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should never have come to the palace, it was a stupid risk. I hope you are safe and well, and I want to see you. Is there any way you can escape? Think hard and send your answer back with Ongdongie, he should wait there for you. _

_ -Wonshikie’ _

The young prince squealed, spinning in circles and holding the little tablet over his heart. Wonshik missed him! Missed him and wanted to see him!

He darted to his vanity, smoothing the wax out with the flat side of his comb and carving a reply into the blank surface with his sharpest hairpin. 

_ ‘You’re such a genius, sending Ongdongie! My smartest and most favorite friend! But I don’t think I can escape! If I could just swim out the window I would have come to you already, but there is magic ringing the perimeter. I can’t leave the grounds! Can you think of a way? I miss you too! _

_ -Hwannie’ _

“Okay little friend, take it to your owner,” Jaehwan murmured, securing the tablet back around the mackerels tail. The fish bumped its nose against his cheek and then zoomed back the way he came. 

The next forty five minutes felt like a thousand years to Jaehwan, anxiously combing his hair and waiting for a reply. If Wonshik could really think of a way to set him free... Jaehwan would swim to his friend as fast as his fins could carry him. Maybe now Wonshik would let the prince brush his hair without being all pouty. They could sit on their rock together and lounge in the sun, and Jaehwan would kiss his friends gorgeous lips over and over and over and-

“You’re back!” the prince exclaimed, snatching the tablet from around the mackerels tail. 

_ ‘If you can’t go through the barrier, go over it. I’ll meet you in the seagrass meadow.’ _

Jaehwan dropped the tablet, staring at the looking glass before him. Unfocused. Go over it? Could he do that? If the magic only extended as high as the water line then Jaehwan could just... why couldn’t he just jump straight up into the air and go right over the top?! It was worth a try! If it didn’t work, Jaehwan would just smack into the barrier and bounce off, trying couldn’t hurt!

The prince swam to the window, pushing it open as far as it would go. It wasn’t so much a window as it was a porthole, but Jaehwan squeezed himself through successfully after a few minutes of wriggling. He was just lucky nobody was there to witness the undignified spectacle other than Ongdongie. The mackerel couldn’t tell anyone how funny Jaehwan surely looked.

“Come on,” he whispered, the little fish at his side as he swam up and up and up toward the surface. It was late, nearly midnight, so the ocean was dark. He could see the moonlight reflecting off the water, finally breaking the surface after almost five minutes. 

“Better build up some momentum, just in case it’s higher than I'm expecting,” he muttered, swimming back down about ten yards. Ongdongie gave the prince an encouraging smack with his small tail and then swam right through the magical perimeter like it wasn’t even there. It was there though, Jaehwan checked, poking at the spot where it should be. His hand found hardness, like trying to touch an invisible wall. 

“One, two, three.”

Jaehwan swam straight up as fast as he could, hands streamline in front of him, speed increasing until he left the water in a graceful ark, diving back down on the other side with barely a splash. Wonshik’s plan had worked! Fighting the impulse to break out in a happy dance, the young prince took off in the direction of the seagrass meadow. 

As he approached, a glint of silver caught Jaehwan’s eye. It was Wonshik, floating a few feet above the vegetation. The young prince’s heart beat at double time. 

“Wonshikie!” he called, swimming faster as his friend spun to face him. The jewelry was gone but that soft smile was back, and Jaehwan decided he’d trade all the precious stones he owned just to see that happy expression on his favorite friend’s handsome face. 

Wonshik held out his arms and Jaehwan careened in between them, twisting his tail around Wonshiks and latching himself to Wonshik’s front. “I missed you!” he exclaimed, trying to pout and failing miserably. The prince felt too relieved to pout. All he could do was grin. 

“I missed you too, I forgot how quiet it is without you around.”

Jaehwan beamed, slinging his arms around his friend’s neck, but Wonshik beat him to the punch again. His hands circled the prince's waist and he tilted his head down, pressing his lips to Jaehwans in a kiss so sweet it stole his breath. 

"Hwannie..."

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

❂❂❂❂❂❂❂❂

**Author's Note:**

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